Why Employee Exits Matter

A little birdie recently reinforced the idea that employee exits matter — that little birdie being Twitter. 

A week after Elon Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter in late October, he cut approximately half of the company’s 7,500-person work force. 

Just hours after Twitter’s layoffs were announced, the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) began surveying 500 HR professionals to get their read on the workforce reduction. About 70% of respondents believed Musk has “mishandled management of Twitter” from the get-go. 

The survey also gauged the likely behavior of employees who survived the layoffs. Approximately 42% of people surveyed claimed they’d be furiously sending out their resume. Another 17% indicated “I’d have already quit.”

Although it’s too early to tell the long-term effects of the layoffs, preliminary data doesn’t look good for Twitter.

It’s a leadership decision.

Prioritizing the employee experience is a leadership decision. 

It’s no surprise that a negative employee exit experience can significantly impact a company’s brand and reputation. Despite this knowledge, many companies still fail to invest in their employee exit process — as evidenced in frequent headlines touting WARN violations and layoff mishaps. 

If employee exits aren’t a corporate priority, it’s time to rethink your process. Get started by checking out our 5 best practices for RIFs and our take on offboarding karma.